A Finnish research initiative highlights that textile recycling holds enormous potential for Europe. While recycling technology is developing quickly, the absence of proper regulation and the complexity of waste material composition remain major barriers to large-scale adoption.
“Each year, around 10 billion kilograms of textile waste is discarded across Europe. With textile fibre valued at 2 to 3 euros per kilogram, the industry presents vast business opportunities,” explains Ali Harlin, Research Professor at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
At present, only about one percent of global textiles are recycled back into new textiles. Harlin points out that the primary challenges stem from the mixed composition of textile raw materials and insufficient regulation.
The EU has been revising the Waste Framework Directive to extend Producer Responsibility to the textile sector, making companies accountable for managing textile recycling. “The EU is ahead globally in textile recycling regulation, but progress remains slow. Effective regulation must come first before significant recycling rates can be achieved,” Harlin adds.
Recycling with minimal processing
For over a decade, the Telaketju network of Finnish companies and researchers has studied textile recycling. Its Telavalue project, concluded last year, sought solutions to sustainability and waste challenges in the industry. According to VTT Principal Scientist Pirjo Heikkilä, recycling should adhere to the principle of minimal processing.
“If repair or reuse is no longer possible, the first choice should be mechanical fibre recycling. This involves shredding textiles into fibres for reuse in production. For heavily worn or low-quality waste, chemical recycling is suitable, where fibres are broken down and rebuilt at the polymer or monomer level,” Heikkilä explains.
Within Telavalue, recycling methods were evaluated by cost, quality, volume, and environmental impact.
Rebuilding the textile chain in Europe
Harlin suggests that greater recycling could revive parts of Europe’s textile production chain. While technology development thrives in Northern and Western Europe, much of the manufacturing expertise lies in Eastern and Southern regions. A functional recycling ecosystem requires continent-wide cooperation.
“Single countries are too small to manage alone. Europe could see five to ten chemical recycling plants, each supplied by around ten mechanical fibre facilities,” Harlin estimates.
Recycling cotton and workwear – challenges with ultra-fast fashion
Technological progress has already enabled cotton recycling. For example, Infinited Fiber Company is developing a new fibre factory in Kemi, Finland. Soon, cotton and polyester will be separable, with chemical PET bottle recycling methods applicable to pure polyester textiles.
“Recycled textiles can become new fabrics, nonwovens, wind turbine blades, car sound insulation, or even additives in concrete and asphalt. Fibres lighten concrete and make it more fire-resistant, while in asphalt they reduce rutting,” says Harlin.
Yet ultra-fast fashion remains a significant obstacle. Its low-quality, blended textiles are hard to recycle profitably. By contrast, workwear is better suited for recycling because garments are purchased as a service, maintained over time, and made of high-quality, traceable materials. “This makes recycling back into textiles easier,” Heikkilä notes.
VTT Senior Scientist Eetta Saarimäki adds that not all complex blends can return to textiles: “However, through thermo-mechanical recycling, these materials can be converted into composite products, giving them another lifecycle.”
Research background
The Telavalue project was led by VTT, LAB University of Applied Sciences, and Turku University of Applied Sciences, with support from Business Finland and 17 companies and organisations. It was part of the ExpandFibre ecosystem by Metsä Group and Fortum. Research on textile recycling continues in EU-funded projects like tExtended and PESCO-UP, focusing on cost and environmental impact analyses of various recycling methods.
Source: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
